Packed with good-for-you greens, this warming broccoli and basil soup is the perfect dinner party starter and couldn't be simpler to make. On the table in under an hour, we love to serve it with crusty bread rolls for dunking, but you could top with crunchy homemade croutons, if you prefer.
Looking for more broccoli recipes? We've compiled our favourites in our best ever broccoli recipe gallery.
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Yields:
6 serving(s)
Prep Time:
25 mins
Cook Time:
25 mins
Total Time:
50 mins
Cal/Serv:
95
Ingredients
1
large white onion
1
large potato, peeled
3
celery sticks
2Tbsp.
olive oil, plus extra to drizzle
1 head broccoli, about 375g
2
garlic cloves, peeled and roughly chopped
1l
vegetable stock
25g
pack fresh basil
Directions
Step 1
Cut the onion in half through the root and peel the brown skin off both halves. Roughly chop the white flesh (to the root). Next, peel and roughly chop the potato, then roughly chop the celery sticks.
Step 2
Heat the oil in a large pan over a low to medium heat. Add the chopped onion, potato and celery. Cook, stirring occasionally, for 5-10min or until the vegetables are beginning to look translucent.
Step 3
Meanwhile cut the broccoli florets off the thicker stem and halve any large florets. Next, chop the stem into small pieces. Add the broccoli florets, chopped stem, garlic and stock to the pan. Bring the mixture to the boil, then turn down the heat and simmer for 10min - you need the vegetables to be just cooked through.
Step 4
Add most of the basil and stalks to the soup - saving a few pretty leaves to use as a garnish. Whiz the soup in a blender until really smooth (in batches if necessary) or use a stick blender to whiz it directly in the pan (off the heat). Return soup to the empty pan and check the seasoning.
Step 5
To serve, reheat the soup (if necessary), then ladle into six bowls. Drizzle over some oil, if you like, and garnish with the reserved basil leaves. Serve with crusty bread.
Get ahead
Make the soup to the end of step 4 up to 5hr ahead. Transfer to a large bowl or jug. Allow to cool, then cover and chill. Cover the reserved basil leaves with damp kitchen paper and chill. To serve, return the soup to a pan and reheat it over medium heat until piping hot. Complete recipe.
An experienced and highly skilled team of food writers, stylists and digital content producers, the Good Housekeeping Cookery Team is a close-knit squad of food obsessives. Cookery Editor Emma Franklin is our resident chilli obsessive and barbecue expert, who spends an inordinate amount of time on holidays poking round the local supermarkets seeking out new and exciting foods. Senior Cookery Writer Alice Shields is a former pastry chef and baking fanatic who loves making bread and would have peanut butter with everything if she could. Her favourite carb is pasta, and our vibrant green spaghetti is her weeknight go-to. Lover of all things savoury, Senior Cookery Writer Grace Evans can be found eating crispy corn and nocellara olives at every opportunity, and will take the cheeseboard over dessert any time (though she cannot resist a slice of tres leches cake). With a wealth of professional kitchen know-how, culinary training and years of experience between them, they are all dedicated to ensuring every Good Housekeeping recipe is the best it can be, so you can trust they’ll work (and if they don’t – we’ll have the answer for why*) every time (*90% of the time the answer is: “buy an separate oven thermometer”!).
